Showing posts with label Italy. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Italy. Show all posts

Thursday, June 25, 2020

A Trio Of Interesting Whites To Enjoy. Sancerre. Sauve. Pay D'Oc.

A Trio Of Interesting Whites To Enjoy

J

Jacques-Frelin Sancerre (AOP) 2018, 12.5%, €26.60 Mary Pawle Wines


Sancerre is a small wine district in the Loire Valley, famous for its crisp, aromatic white wines made from Sauvignon Blanc. This one has a light gold colour with a tint of green. The pleasant aromas of this organic wine are both floral and mineral with gooseberry. A bracing acidity makes the taste buds sit up and take notice and what they notice is the apple and pear and citrus flavours, nothing over the top, all’s in balance. 

As it happens, there is a famous goats cheese (Chavignol) in the Loire Valley, a perfect match for the wine, which will also go well with fish and seafood. I’m certain the likes of Ardsallagh and St Tola would also pair well with it. Very Highly Recommended. Serving temperature is 10-12 degrees.

For over thirty years now, Jacques Frelin has been at the forefront of the organic wine movement in France. While organic is often associated with small, this is not the case with Frelin who has vineyards all over the country, in the Languedoc (where he is headquartered), in Gascony, in the Rhone and the Loire.



Fasoli Gino “Borgoletto” Soave (DOC) 2018, 12.5%, €15.55 Mary Pawle Wines


Mary Pawle imports quite a few well-priced wines and this 100% organic Garganega is one of them. It has a light straw colour, a pleasant bouquet both floral and fruity. Fresh and fruity on the palate, quite full-bodied, no shortage of acidity, with a long and dry finish. Highly Recommended.

The producers are also obviously very happy as they say, on the label, that it is “an ode to the terroir”. It is indeed a lovely easy-drinking wine and Fasoli Gino produce more Borgoletto than any other wine in their range. 

Their back label has most of the info you need, nicely and economically laid out: Vino Biologico. Hand picked 100% Garganega. Drink up to three years. And their social media addresses are also listed.

A dry, crisp, fruity white wine, Soave's naturally refreshing appeal led it to phenomenal popularity in the second half of the 20th century (pretty sure it was our wedding wine back in the day!). Wine-Searcher.com say it “is arguably the most famous white wine DOC in Italy”. But I think, most current Irish wine-drinkers would nominate Pinot Grigio as the most famous Italian white.





Domaine de Brau Chardonnay Pays d’Oc (IGT) 2018, 14%, €16.50 Mary Pawle

Colour is a lovely mid-gold. Fairly intense aromas of white fruit and a hint of honey. A pleasant burst of tropical fruit finds it way across the palate, rich and round, with an almost creamy mouthfeel it finishes well with increasing citrus notes. Lightly oaked and organic, this fresh and surprising Chardonnay is Very Highly Recommended. Well priced too and that’s a bonus!

This is made from 100% Chardonnay and fermented and matured in oak. A great food wine! Serve fresh at 10 - 12°C, with white meat, poultry and fish, grilled or in sauce.

Gabriel and Wenny Taris, of Chateau de Brau, are too close to the hard Languedoc ground to get carried way with romantic cliches - it is not sunshine all the way: "Not all vintages are exceptional. There are the weather conditions. And the weeds that we will never overcome. And the little beasts and larger animals who demand their share."

That they share with the little and large of the local animal world gives you the clue that the work here is more in cooperation with nature than against it. 

Thursday, June 11, 2020

Top Co-ops Come Up With Little Beauties

Top Co-ops Come Up With Little Beauties
Once upon a time, the word cooperative was frowned on by wine importers. But, in recent decades, many coops have favoured quality over quantity. Importers, such as Kilkenny's Le Caveau, have long been among those who go off the beaten track in search out the good stuff. Below, we have two very good ones indeed.

Labastide “Terrane” Terres du Tarn (IGP) 2017, 12%,
Located in the heart of the historic Gaillac vineyards, the Cave de Labastide was founded in 1949. Today it is the oldest cellar of the Gaillac appellation. It is made up of about a hundred cooperative winegrowers with an area of around 1,000 hectares of vines.
Colour is mid to dark ruby. Lovely red fruit on nose and on the palate. It is hard to fault this one. Much smoother than expected, slight spice, well made everyday easy-drinking wine. I’d say many a lunch in the area has been polished off with a carafe of this one, obviously an excellent house wine (yet another one!) on the Le Caveau list. Highly Recommended.
You may be wondering about the little known grape varieties that have been used here: it is a blend of indigenous varieties Braucoul (Fer Servadou) and Duras. The former contributes perfumed blackcurrant fruit while the Duras is peppery and structured.
So, enjoy it with your lunch or dinner or just a simple honest baguette with some fresh cheese on the side. Should go well too with charcuterie. Also as an aperitif though perhaps chill it a little if the summer is good!
Madregale Terre di Chetti Bianco (IGP) 2018, 12% abv, €11.95 at NeighbourFood Cork
Spritzer with Chambord

This white wine is obtained from a blend of Chardonnay (the dominant partner according to the label) and Trebbiano, the grapes cultivated within the municipality of Tollo in Chetti (a province of the Italian region of Abruzzo). I have long been a fan of this Le Caveau “house wine” and of its companion red. Watch out for it as restaurants reopen, along at the stockists above. Highly Recommended. And well-priced too!

Colour is a clear light gold. Moderately intense aromas with a citrus touch. Fresh and lively on the palate, with an unexpected smoothness. Good acidity too and that helps it match with the suggested light seafood or pasta dishes like spaghetti with clams. But it may also be appreciated as an aperitif.

It was hardly out of the NeighbourFood delivery box when I was pressing it into use as part of a spritzer where its minor companions in the glass were Chambord (the black raspberry liquor from the Loire Valley), ice (lots of it) and soda water.  Quite a pleasant opener to the evening and might well have been more appreciated had I presented it a few days earlier when the temperatures were about 50% higher than they are this breezy evening (June 6th, 2020).

Madregale is produced, using organic principles, by the award-winning Cantina Tollo, one of the biggest and best co-operative wineries in the Abruzzo region, covering 3,200 ha owned by 800 farmers.

Monday, June 8, 2020

Walter Massa: Rebel Without a Label! And a 3-handed Riesling venture.

Walter Massa: Rebel Without a Label! And a 3-handed Riesling venture. 

Two very interesting wines indeed from a collaboration between Bradley's Off Licence (Cork) and Wine Masons. I got box #2 but there are a few others, probably just as interesting.

Walter Massa Terra Implicito 2018, 13%, 

Rebel Without a Label!
There’s no putting a label, other than “Independent”, on the Piedmont winemaker Walter Massa. And, aside from Italy, you won’t see any statement of origin or whether it’s organic or biodynamic on the label of this bottle. 

The Modern History of Italian Wine (Filiputti) lauds Massa as one of the influential Italian winemakers, especially in the 1980s. “To those who ask him why he does not make DOC wines, he answers that he prefers to make wines which require three ingredients: grapes, time and common sense.”

He is noted for his Barbera, called just by its place of origin Monleale, and also for recuperating Timorasso, a white grape that was on the way out in the 1980s.

Colour of this Rosso (100% Barbera) is mid to dark ruby. Inviting bouquet of small red fruit, including wild strawberry. All the fruits again and a touch of spice on a fresh and lively palate with a beautiful fresh acidity. Easy drinking and the concentrated flavours linger. 

Grapes, time and common sense have certainly been brought together here in a pleasant and harmonious amalgam. A Highly Recommended (and Very Highly Recommended with the Cannelloni from the Cork restaurant Da Mirco). That Monleale must be really something special - must keep an eye out for it!



Breuer-Mehrlein-Lundén“Riesling Venture” Rheingau 2018, 12.0%.

Light straw colour, bright and clear. Citrus fruit, minerality and my unfavourite diesel in the aromas. It’s a merry dance of fruit and acidity on the palate, both in step, and the harmony continues all the way through to a super finish. Enjoy wherever, whenever, they say on the label. Right here, right now, I say. Highly Recommended.

Three names are listed on the bottle: Breuer, Mehrlein, Lundén. The first two are the names of the two collaborating wineries while the third is the name of the winemaker at Breuer.

They say: a Riesling Cuvée, standing for lightness, a fine sweet-acidity-match presenting the Rheingau in best shape. The modern label shows the river Rhine, who characterizes our region. Together we want to tease people and present an entrance in the world of Rheingau-Wines.The Cuvée is being bottled by Weingut Bernhard Mehrlein.

Looks to me as if they enjoyed making it. I’m sure you’ll enjoy drinking it. I did, even with that the note of diesel in the aromas!

The Label:
3 names, 3 characters, 3 styles.
floral, fruity, fresh.
100% pure Rhiengau Riesling.
enjoy wherever, whenever.

Bradley's Mixed Box #2 (is a collaboration with Wine Masons) consists of the Niepoort Rotulo DAO along with two other reds, a Horizon de Bichot Pinot Noir and this Walter Massa Barbera. The three whites are Rijckaert Arbois Chardonnay (Jura), a Casas Nonas Vinho Verde, and the Venture Riesling. Total cost is €125. Sorry, I don’t have individual prices.

Wednesday, May 20, 2020

Nino Pieropan fondly remembered in son Andrea’s Masterclass

Nino Pieropan fondly remembered in son Andrea’s Masterclass
 
Pieropan family, in Soave since 1880
In the 1960s, Soave wine came from the Classico region. But the economic boom of the 70s, saw Soave (like Chianti) expand beyond the original area. And it proved a disaster. 

During Tuesday’s Liberty Wines organised online masterclass, Andrea Pieropan explained: “The DO expanded into the flat area where the yields were higher, the season shorter and there was less personality in the wines.” He explained that no area in Italy has such a difference between the classico and the surrounds.

So, quantity reined. Soave was everywhere, being sold abroad (primarily in North America) in 2-litre bottles. Soave became something of a dirty word. Many avoided the wine but, according to Vino Italiano, that meant “missing out on the elegant floral whites of Leonildo Pieropan whose Soaves show off the plump mouth-filling character of ripe Garganega.”  “..taste Pieropan’s single-vineyard wines (..Calvarino … and La Rocca) and suddenly Soave is no longer a dirty word”.

Grown on dark volcanic soil

Such was the impact of Leonildo (popularly known as Nino) who took over from his father in 1970 and was the first producer to make a single-vineyard Soave, 'Calvarino', in 1971.  This vineyard, owned by the Pieropan family since 1901, is on the classic volcanic basalt of Soave Classico. The other single vineyard 'La Rocca' was released for the first time in 1978, this vineyard is situated on the castle (“Rocca” in Italian) of Soave, on the only limestone outcrop in the zone.
Garganega (2019 vintage)

“My father was thinking single vineyard when no one else was,” said Andrea. And he was up against popular opinion as many thought you had to use the international grapes (Chardonnay and Sauvignon blanc) to make a top class white. Liberty MD David Gleave confirmed that Nino had great courage and foresight in doing so and admires “the bravery of doing something like that in the 1970s, he trusted his own powers of deduction. He was a modest man but when you visit (as I have many times), you know you’re in a great vineyard.”

“He did not care about trendy,” said Andrea. ‘We have to show what we have and what we have you cannot find in many wines. We have a test: put bottle on table, bottle finished, good sign!”
April bud - Covid19 notwithstanding

“Urged by the great Luigi Veronelli to take the high road of quality, Nino started to prove, with that wine, that the best wines of Soave could age beautifully and could, in the right hands, be considered among Italy’s finest white wines,’ said Gleave. 

The Pieropan family has been producing wines in Soave since the 1890s. Indeed, they were the first producer to bottle a wine with the name Soave on the label in the early 1930s. Calvarino (little calvary) has been owned by the Pieropan family since 1901, is on the classic volcanic basalt of Soave Classico. The other single vineyard 'La Rocca' was released for the first time in 1978, this vineyard is situated on the castle (“Rocca” in Italian) of Soave, on the only limestone outcrop in the zone.

Andrea recalled his father saying that Calvarino was the greatest expression of what Soave should be and important too is the use of cement tanks for aging. “The wine does much better in concrete… we use it always for Calvarino, even in the new winery.”
La Rocca, grown on limestone

They started with cement also at La Rocca but here the soil is “completely different” and they switched to large barrels/tonneau and the wine spends 12 months on oak before bottling and blending. Also, it is not released for another 12 months. All in all, it shows that Garganega “could make a great white wine to compare with International whites wines.”

In the interesting Q&A at the end, Andrea was asked about the use of amphorae. He acknowledged that amphorae were “beautifully shaped and trendy” but didn’t see “much difference”. “You can have cement in same shape. In terms of material, I don’t see a big difference, both are inert.”

Attention to detail, year after year, seems to be a family trait. The Modern History of Italian Wine lists Nino as one of the most important winemakers of the 70s. “With him, viticulture and the Soave grape changed their look. He was the first to adopt green pruning methods… the first to plant espaliered vineyards (1969)…. and, subsequently, to reduce the buds from 50 to 10 in the pergolas of Garganega.  .. the first to use the horizontal Vaslin press..the first to restore the value of Recioto as a wine.. In 1970, with the blind tastings, his wines came to be considered extraordinary.” And the decade just got better with Calvarino and La Rocca
Brothers in wine: Dario (left) and Andrea

When Nino died two years ago, Andrea and brother Dario stepped up to the plate. Each is a winemaker. At present, Andrea oversees the vineyard while Dario takes care of the vivification.

The two sons could have rested on the their father’s laurels for decades. But, like Nino, neither is for standing still and there’s a string of projects on the go, a new one involving Valpolicella, and they recently completed a wonderful winery (underground in a mountain) in Soave itself; organic now, they are becoming more environmentally friendly; they are planting a vineyard on the winery roof to investigate the effects of copper and sulphur in the soil; and, for another label, have planted a vineyard at 500 metres. “We continue in the same line as father,” Andrea said. I reckon Nino would have been quietly pleased!

The new winery during construction













Monday, May 4, 2020

Muscato the link in these distinctive whites from Spain and Italy.

Muscato the link in these distinctive whites
 from Spain and Italy.




There is no one "true" Muscat, but rather a great many incarnations, each with its own regional nuance and character, according to Wine-Searcher.com. Muscat Blanc à Petits Grains is known as Moscato (bianco) in Italy. Moscato d'Asti is a well-known Italian example, Muscat de Beaumes de Venise in Provence is a French one, both sweet. Muscat also features in Las Cuadras (you'll note its exotic aromas) but Viognier is the main grape here and the wine is dry.

Las Cuadras “Viognier and Muscat A Petits Grains” Costers Del Segre (DO) 2018, 12%, €14.95 Wines Direct 
Valva Martínez de Toda is a young and innovative winemaker responsible for this distinctive and impressive Catalan white wine Las Cuadras, a blend of Viognier and Muscat.

Light straw is the colour, with a tint of green. Fresh and pleasant aromas of exotic fruit, touch of citrus. A little tingle on the introduction and then that juicy fruit sweeps across, distinctive, delicate and delicious, some sweet notes too, but there’s a notable acidity there also, right the way through to the moderately lengthy finish. Highly Recommended. Nice to have a few of these handy for summer days in the back-garden.

The vineyards that produce Las Cuadras are located in the Costers del Segre area of Catalonia in north eastern Spain. The name means 'Banks of the Segre' – a river which originates in the Pyrenees and is a tributary of the Ebro. The large Raimat estate is the best known in the DO which shares some of its vineyard with the Cava region.


Importers Wines Direct recommend pairing it with: Spicy Food, Pork and Poultry, Light Fish and Shellfish and Hard Cheese

Bera Moscato d'Asti DOCG 2018, 5% abv, €17.95 Wines Direct.

Rich aromas, mainly floral, (and a bubble or two as well hits the nostrils) in this light gold low alcohol wine from Italy. The aromas persist as you sip. Bubbles galore but nothing too sparkly (Frizzante rather than Spumante) and not overly sweet either because there is a balancing acidity. A really lovely light tasting wine made with the Moscato grape. Recommended.
Versatile too. Jancis Robinson says it reminds her that wine can bring you joy without having to be serious. And recommends it for Breakfast (even the Full English) and Brunch. 
Importers Wine Direct propose pairing it with Soft cheese, game and dessert while the producers suggest matching it with desserts and in particular with creams, fruit tarts, and pastries. Serving temperature - 6 to 10 degrees.
Just to give you a rough guide to the degree of sweetness, the Asti residual sugar is 130 g/l while in Sauternes is can be anywhere from 120 to 220 g/l;  Beaumes de Venise is 110 g/l; Coke, by the way, is 113.

Friday, April 24, 2020

Screw Cap and Cork. A masterclass from Tuscany by wine-maker Paolo De Marchi

Screw Cap and Cork. A masterclass from Tuscany by wine-maker Paolo De Marchi


Paolo De Marchi
Tuscan wine-maker Paolo De Marchi saw “the other side of the moon” in the early years of this century. He told us how that came about during yesterday's online masterclass.

Paolo, the owner of the superbly tended Isole e Olena vineyards in Tuscany, has a tendency to see what’s hidden - once he dug holes “everywhere” with a back-hoe to see what the roots of his vines were doing down there. So it was no surprise that when Liberty’s David Gleave MW asked him to start using screw cap on some of his wines that Paolo went into the subject in deep detail.

His initial answer though was negative. “I said not ever!”  But, he decided to try. “The DOCG though does not allow screw cap, it was not easy decision. I have to go deeper, to the moon, to imagine the other side. There may be other answers, so I try.”

It worked out well though. From 2005, the Liberty allocation of Cepparello, with screw cap but without the DOCG of course, went off to the UK and then, not over surprisingly, Australia wanted 100% screw cap. And New Zealand followed.

Clare Valley’s Tim Adams attended a 2010 event in Cork’s Blackrock Castle and his bottles that night were all screw cap. Tim and his neighbouring winemakers went for this method of closure in the late 1990s and are very happy with it. “But we are still learning...the process of evaluation is long term... could go on for 20 years”. They are well into that now!

As indeed is Paolo. And Paolo is better placed to speak on the merits of screw cap versus cork as he also bottles the Cepparello under cork for Italy, for Italian restaurants abroad, for long established importers in the UK and also for the USA. “Screw cap is more popular on white wines… every year increasing.”

“Twelve vintages now we have screw cap. Very hard to choose.” But he did indicate that the best wine you’ll ever drink will be from cork, indicated also that screw cap wines are excellent and more consistently so.

“Cork is always a mystery. Screw cap is less of a mystery - just check for physical damage to the closure, maybe a little shock on the cap. But I still prefer the wine from the cork,” and then he smiles, “from a good cork”.

As they age, he maintains both will be beautiful if different. “But that’s a minor problem. When you have a beautiful wine, enjoy it.”

David Gleave agreed. “You’re right, either way there’s diversity (diversity even within cork). Besides, corks are getting better but my personal preference is for screw cap. The tannins evolve a little more slowly. It is more consistent and Cepparello is well suited” Paolo, by the way, also does a superb Chardonnay under screw cap.


The Portuguese cork makers did up their act after the turn of the century shock from down under.  Back in 2013 in L’Atitude 51, Philip Grant of Chateau Bellevue la Foret, Fronton AOC, said he had noted a major improvement in the traditional closure since 2001 “when the Portuguese cork industry reacted to the enormous pressure they was coming under from the emergence of the screw cap as the favourite closure of Australia and other wine producing countries”.

Philip insisted that consistency is guaranteed under screw cap. He had very little to say in favour of the synthetic cork, beyond indicating that it may be useful for wines that are intended for a very limited shelf life and he meant months!

Paolo of course had an opinion. ”I don’t like DIAM - a wannabe cork!” The synthetic Noma though is “more interesting” and he might take a look at that.

Just to finish with a note or two on the Cepparello (first released in 1980). This is a Chianti Classico - it will be on the label if you buy the cork version, won’t be there if you buy screw cap. The grapes are grown on the estate which is right in the heart of Chianti Classico between Florence and Siena. It is a blend of Sangiovese 80%, Canaiolo 15% and Syrah 5%.

Why Syrah? That was a popular question during the Question and Answer session that followed Paolo’s talk. No hesitation from Paolo. “Syrah, because it ripens well, adds colour and spice, and blends very well with Sangiovese.”

Lots of other questions too for Paolo before he could take a break but I didn’t get the tail-end as my connection began to act up. Looking forward to the next masterclass from Liberty Wines and their team!

All pictures above are screenshots from the masterclass.